1. Field of the Invention
The object of the invention consists in a process for manufacturing and packaging soft cheese with a bloomed or washed rind which increases its shelf life prior to consumption. In the present context this reference to shelf life should be understood as referring more precisely to the "life cycle" of the cheese during which any changes in it are such that it retains its usual appearance (with a normal-looking bloom in the case of a cheese with a bloomed rind), its flexibility and above all its quality with regard to taste, so that it may be consumed with all the satisfaction which might be expected.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a cheese of this kind, such as brie or camembert, is manufactured by the normal cheesemaking methods and packaged in the habitual manner, its shelf life is relatively short. For example, the normal shelf life of a cheese manufactured and packaged in the conventional manner (in aluminium foil in a wooden or cardboard box, etc) is approximately 45 days at a temperature of 4.degree. to 6.degree. C. For cheeses to be exported over long distances, they must be stored for three to four months without deterioration in their appearance, texture or organoleptic qualities.
Consideration has been given to overcoming these difficulties by packaging the cheese in sealed boxes, either of metal or of plastics materials, and subjecting them, after packaging, to sterilization at a temperature of 100.degree. to 200.degree. C. in order to prevent these problems arising for several months. The results achieved in this way have not been satisfactory. The rind of the cheese is washed, so that it loses its bloom and its color changes, tending to redden, as a result of which the cheese loses its attraction for the consumer, from the point of view of its appearance alone, not to mention its quality which is also degraded.
A principal objective of the invention is to provide a process for manufacturing and packaging cheeses of the kind in question which considerably extends the shelf life of the cheese, in the sense explained hereinabove, whilst retaining all its qualities.
Another object of the invention is to provide economic packaging means for such cheeses within the context of this process.
The manufacture of cheese comprises a sequence of operations which are well known and will not be described here in full.
Following the addition of rennet, traditionally effected at 32.degree. to 34.degree. C. and bringing about flocculation of the casein, the curds separate out from the whey and are then cut up and placed in a mold; the curds are drained in the mold and assume their final form; following this molding there are effected the operations of acidification, salting and seeding with the penicillium which produces the surface bloom in an initial period of 9 to 11 days, after which the cheese is subject to a maturing stage during which it is turned over several times at regular intervals, for a period which is usually at least three weeks and at a temperature of 7.degree. to 10.degree. C.